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Below you'll see everything we could locate for your search of “Florida”
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to carry out a new Farm Stress Awareness and Reduction Initiative in Florida. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced the grant on Nov. 3, National Stress Awareness Day. With the grant, FDACS will launch an outreach campaign to …
Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) recently reported its efforts and priorities for the next Florida legislative session. As in past years, much of FCM’s focus will be on funding programs (Citrus Research and Development Foundation, Citrus Research and Field Trial and New Varieties Development and Management Corp.) critical to solving HLB and the marketing efforts to continue movement of 100% premium …
On Oct. 27, the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) approved a revised 2021–22 operating budget for the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) of $29 million. The FCC is the governing board of the FDOC, an executive agency of the Florida government charged with the marketing, research and regulation of the Florida citrus industry. The FCC voted to maintain the previous year’s …
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not agree with Florida Citrus Mutual’s (FCM) request for discretion in enforcing the Brix limit for not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice. In its Oct. 22 Triangle newsletter, FCM reported that it had sought enforcement discretion “to protect growers from the likely contingency that Florida’s 2021-22 orange crop may not meet FDA’s minimum Brix …
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed three new members to the Florida Citrus Commission and reappointed four others on Oct. 8. The appointments of John Smoak and Daniel Sutton fill two vacant seats, and the appointment of Christopher Groom fills a seat held by a commissioner serving a previously expired term. Commissioners Carlos Martinez, Martin “Marty” McKenna, Steve Johnson and William “Bill” …
The Gift Fruit Shippers Advisory Council (GFSAC) met virtually on Sept. 29 to discuss results of the 2020–21 season and develop plans for the upcoming season. In 2020–21, Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) programs focused on communicating availability, quality, tradition, nutrition and Florida origin with consumers through social media and website activations to encourage purchases from Florida gift fruit shippers. …
It’s not a question of if citrus greening disease will be an issue for North Florida and South Georgia citrus growers, but when will it be. Fred Gmitter, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences citrus breeder, believes the disease’s impact in both areas is inevitable. He shared his assessment during a recent Cold Tolerant Citrus Production …
Multi-county citrus Extension agent Chris Oswalt discussed the fate of phosphorus in Florida citrus soils in the September Extension newsletter, Citrus from the Ridge to the Valley. Excerpts from his article follow. The amount of phosphorus in soil is closely related to the potential availability of this phosphorus to plants … Potentially available soil forms of phosphorus are dependent on …
By Ariel Singerman For processed oranges grown in Southwest Florida during 2020–21, the estimated cultural costs were $1,508 per acre. Total costs of production were $1,882 per acre. Those estimates are down $214 per acre compared to the previous season. This is the result of growers reducing costs across all grove programs, except for fungicides and irrigation. Such a cutback …
Work on finalizing a newly revised citrus best management practices (BMPs) manual has slowed, and that’s a good thing, according to Highlands County Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA) Executive Director Ray Royce. In a recent HCCGA newsletter article, he stated that a number of issues, especially related to nutrient management and application efficiency, need to be better understood. “It is the …
Brandon White became the new commercial fruit crop agent for Lake and Orange counties on Aug. 16, working at the Lake County Extension office in Tavares. White was born and raised in Florida and lives in Ocoee. “Not having grown up in agriculture, I have been in it to some capacity for over a decade since I changed my major …
Florida’s citrus acreage declined another 3% in 2021, to 407,348 acres, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported Sept. 8. That’s the lowest level since the NASS started keeping track of the acreage in 1966. ACREAGE DETAILSThe net loss of 12,104 acres is 955 acres more than was lost last season. New plantings at 10,448 acres …
Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is still present in Florida and can be transmitted to new trees, especially during brown citrus aphid outbreaks, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). A presentation about surveying for CTV was available at the UF/IFAS booth during Citrus Expo in August. The presentation noted that switching to sour orange …
Gladstone Land Corporation announced that it acquired two lemon and orange groves, totaling 617 acres, in South Florida for approximately $5.2 million. In connection with the acquisition, it entered into a 12-year leaseback agreement with the seller. The organization did not respond to a request for information about the seller or the location of the groves. “We are excited to …
By Pete Spyke and Bill Castle Navel oranges are fairly tolerant of HLB, are popular and easy to sell, and offer a stable source of income that is only marginally related to worldwide supply and demand. Nevertheless, the Florida navel orange industry has experienced some tough times recently. Growers are questioning whether it is possible to grow navel oranges profitably …
The citrus black spot (CBS) quarantine in Florida was recently expanded in five Southwest Florida counties by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS added 37 sections in Charlotte County, 17 sections in Collier County, 45 sections in Glades County, 68 sections in Hendry County and 28 sections in Lee County to the quarantine …
In addition to recently projecting that Florida orange and red grapefruit production will likely decline for the foreseeable future, economist Tom Spreen provided some of the reasons. OLDER, LESS PRODUCTIVE TREESSpreen, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor emeritus, cited an older tree inventory and declining fruit per tree as contributors to projected yield declines. He said …
Private consultant Elizabeth Steger on Aug. 16 forecast Florida will produce 52 million boxes of oranges in the 2021-22 season — 1.5% less than the 52.8 million boxes produced in 2020-21. Steger projected 20.8 million boxes of early-midseason oranges; that’s less than the 22.7 million boxes produced last season. Her Valencia projection is 31.2 million boxes; that’s more than the …
Florida orange and red grapefruit production, already at historically low levels, will likely decline for years, according to a leading citrus economist. Tom Spreen, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor emeritus, calculated Florida crop output through the 2031-32 season based on various yield and tree replacement assumptions. Oranges and red grapefruit are Florida’s top-producing varieties. …
Central Florida grove land sold for about 30% less per net tree acre in 2020 than the year before, according to a firm that sells much Florida land. Brian Beasley, senior advisor at SVN Saunders Ralston Dantzler in Lakeland, reported the sales in the firm’s Lay of the Land 2020 Market Report. “We assume most of this decrease (in prices) …
